St. David’s Church

St. David’s burgeoning Catholic congregation in Vaughan needed a new church to seat 750 parishioners. The building committee wanted the structure to be a simple and dramatic statement of Christian theology. For the design team, this meant trying to express communal worship in a contemporary way, thus creating an architecture of spiritual transcendence without relying on traditional iconography. The church’s triangular form and semi-circular seating arrangement form both a dramatic focus for enhancing the congregation as well as the sense of participation in the service. The basic shape of the church is complemented by other triangular forms (symbolizing the Trinity) that are also found in details such as the stained glass windows and the pulpit.